Robert Gates US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is warning troops that the law allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the military is not officially in effect yet. President Barack Obama has signed the law repealing the "don't ask, dont' tell" policy, but the change is not expected to be in place for a number of months. The Pentagon has issued a memo that Gates sent to armed forces branch heads and other officials explaining the timing and stressing that troops can still run afoul of the old law. Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network says the advocacy group has received dozens of phone calls from troops confused about the timing and wanting to make sure when they may legally begin talking about the fact that they're gay.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 24th December 2010 - 5:01pm